We have a rule at my office that if another company asks for references for a former employee, we can say all the good stuff we want but can never say anything bad. We have one guy that I liked, but he is fired for incompetence. I get this phone call.

Employer: “How did you like working with [Fired Guy]?

Me: “Oh, yeah, he was a great guy!”

Employer: “Did he do quality work as an engineer?”

Me: “Um, I’m going to have to refer you to our company controller in Little Rock.”

Employer: “Oh, I see. Well, thank you very much.”

Later, [Fired Guy] storms into the office.

Fired Guy: “You guys left me with egg on my face! [Manager] wouldn’t talk to him, either! He said he had to go catch an airplane!”

Me: “Sorry, company rules!” 

I couldn’t help thinking, “Why would you use us for a reference after getting fired?”

My husband and I have an early morning flight. We will layover in Denver and then go on to our final destination. That morning, the worst weather system in years hit our city. We sit in the airport all day, enduring delay after delay. Finally, all flights are canceled and we reschedule for the following day. Please note: no planes have left that airport today.

After we reschedule, this takes place with the agent.

Us: “Where can we pick up our checked luggage?”

Agent: *Checks the computer* “It’s in Denver.”

Us: “No, it can’t be; the plane to Denver never left.”

Agent: “It’s in Denver. You can pick it up there.”

Us: “We are no longer going through Denver. And how did the luggage get to Denver?”

Agent: “It’s in Denver.”

We finally went to the baggage claim and found it there.

Our subdivision has a clubhouse with a pool that we pay for out of our HOA fees. The clubhouse is staffed during the open hours with some very nice people. Lately, though, we have had a large turnover in staff. We also have several entitled people in our neighborhood who seem to think that because they are older they can determine when and where children are allowed.

I have my in-laws visiting. My kids, ages seventeen and fifteen, take their cousins, ages fifteen and thirteen, up to the pool so my sister-in-law and I can sit and discuss some family business.

Less than twenty minutes later, they come back in. I ask why they came back so soon. They inform me that they were told to leave by the woman in charge of the clubhouse. Apparently, there were some older people at the pool who like to sit there in the afternoons and read by the poolside and the kids were disturbing them. 

I immediately go up to the clubhouse with the kids in tow, as well as my sister-in-law who loves to watch me go off on people.

Me: “Hello, [New Employee], we haven’t met yet. I am [My Name]. I know you are new here so I am sorry I haven’t had the chance to welcome you; however, my kids came home and said you chased them off from the pool. Were they misbehaving?”

New Employee: “Oh, no, no, not at all. You see, they were splashing around in the pool and bothering the couple sitting out there who come up here in the afternoon to sit by the pool and read.”

Me: “Oh, okay. I see. When will I be getting a refund on my HOA fees, then? Shall we call your supervisor and have them cut a check or will you be paying cash… now, please.”

New Employee: *Taken somewhat aback* “I… I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

Me: “Well, I pay the same amount of fees as they do — in the hundreds of dollars — and therefore, I have the same rights as they do, and by proxy, so do my kids. Therefore, since you are denying me use of the products and services I pay for, for no good reason other than that someone else doesn’t want us to, you owe me a refund.”

She is speechless.

I turn to the kids and tell them to go get in the pool, and then I turn back to her.

Me: “Listen. I get it. They have no doubt been driving you crazy with their entitled ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. They think they can come up here to a community pool and sit leisurely by the pool without being disturbed. If that is the case, they can go build their own pool in their own backyard. Until then, they have no right to deny my family their right to use the pool that I pay a great deal for every month. Are we clear?”

She meekly nodded. I didn’t want to be too mean because I know she was being fussed at by the couple that I’ve had to deal with before, but I wasn’t putting up with it. I came to find out that my family wasn’t the only one whose kids were being chased off by this couple.

The supervisor called and apologized, and after that, they sent a statement to all the neighborhood reminding them that EVERYONE has an equal right to enjoy the pool, regardless of age. We have had no trouble at the pool since.

I don’t know if they still go up there and read. Frankly, I don’t care.

This story is part of our Best Of September 2020 roundup!

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My friends and I go to Las Vegas for the weekend. While there, we decide to play some blackjack, so we find a blackjack table.

The dealer deals us our cards. Her up card is an eight. After we all make our decisions, the dealer turns over her down card — a nine — giving her a hard seventeen. At first, since we all have between eighteen and twenty, we think we win, since the table’s rule is that the dealer stands on any seventeen. However, the dealer then draws another card — a four — giving her a twenty-one.

Dealer: “You lose!”

Me: “You cannot draw on seventeen! It says, ‘Dealer stands on seventeen,’ right on the table!”

Dealer: *Snotty tone* “Sorry, I make the rules at this table!”

Friend #1: “Just leave it, [My Name]. Let’s just do another round.”

She deals us another hand. Her up card is an ace this time.

Dealer: “Would anyone like to make an insurance bet?”

We all decide to make the bet.

Dealer: “Nope, no ten-value card. You lose your insurance bet!”

Welp. It was worth a try. We continue regardless and make our decisions. She turns over her down card — a king.

Dealer: *Smug grin* “You lose!”

Friend #3: “You said you didn’t have a ten-value card!”

Dealer: “Well, I lied.”

Friend #2: “You can’t do that! We want our money back!”

Dealer: *Snottily* “My table, my rules. You’re not getting your money back.”

Me: “That’s it. We’re done here.”

We got up and went to management to complain. Upon hearing our complaints, they told us we weren’t the first patrons she had pulled this stunt on. After investigating the security footage to confirm it, they refunded us our money and apologized for the incident, assuring us she would no longer be a problem. We ended up playing poker and roulette for the rest of our time there. At one point, on my way to the restroom, I saw the now-fired dealer being dragged out by security, kicking and screaming. We still go to this casino whenever we go to Vegas, but we no longer play blackjack.

I am a sixteen-year-old student in a technical school. I chose to study 140 km away from home and most of my family. I am living in my cousin’s living room. My allowance is given through money transfers when I don’t have the chance to go home.

This one particular experience still baffles me.

After school, I stop by the mall on the way and go to the money remittance kiosk. I fill up the form for remittance and give my student ID. The teller calls me when it’s my turn.

Teller: *Angrily* “Next time, I won’t accept this ID.”

Me: *Confused* “What?”

Teller: *Still angry* “You should really have another type of ID. Apply for a voter’s ID or a driver’s license. You shouldn’t use your student ID since it’s not valid.”

I am a very sarcastic person and I’m a little annoyed that she has started lecturing me.

Me: “Can I apply for a voter’s ID at sixteen?”

Teller: *Confused* “Are you not twenty-two?”

Me: “No, I’m sixteen.”

She looked over my birthdate again. Apparently, she misread the year. She lost some of the volume of her voice but still insisted that I get a different form of ID.

I just said, “I will when I can,” in an annoyed tone.

No apologies, no admittance. I never used that kiosk again.