I was a manager at a fast food place for a while. You’d think my worst employee would have been some teenager who slacked off or didn’t listen.

Mind you, I’m only twenty. I was a manager from nineteen to twenty-one. This new employee did not like that I — a child, as she put it — was above her. She would constantly undermine my authority. And I wasn’t a micromanager, and I didn’t even get loud. My way was, “Hey, d’you want to check on the lobby?” Not demanding but asking nicely. That’s how I was trained by my manager.

I would get, “No, I don’t,” instead of, “Nah, but sure.” So, I started saying, “I spotted a few dirty tables. Could you take care of it?”

Eventually, I appealed to the owners to have a talk with [Employee] and me privately about her attitude and unwillingness to accept me as her manager. In the talk, [Employee] made it very clear that she would not ever accept a teenager (keyword) as her superior. I was twenty, but I do look younger.

When we explained I was well out of high school, her attitude flipped. Suddenly, she was like, “Oh! So, you are an adult. That’s okay, then.”

We still let her go for her blatant disregard for authority. That and she was a lazy s***, anyway.

I’m waiting in line and a fast food place. There are about five people in front of me in line; two of these are the couple in front of me. Finally, they get to order. The man asks for two burgers, small French fries, the “senior” coffee (it’s reduced to forty-five cents if you’re a senior citizen), and a small cola — finally, after changing his mind on what he wanted, I think to intentionally confuse the girl at the register.

Cashier: “That’ll be [around $8.00].”

Customer: “That’s not right!”

And he proceeds to question how much everything is.

Now, the shift supervisor has been standing right there watching what’s happening, and he gives a rundown of what was ordered and what it costs. Well, the customer is unhappy because the small drink wasn’t comped at the senior price as well as the coffee, so they fix that. The girl then grabs the cup for the cola and puts it on the counter so he can fill it at the dispensing machine. It’s a stainless steel counter and an EMPTY cup; it makes a noise.

Customer: “What was THAT? Why did you slam the cup?! I don’t appreciate being disrespected like that! I want to talk to the manager!“

A manager is called over, and the guy rants about getting an eye-roll from the girl and says wants compensation; he wants a free milkshake. The manager looks at the shift supervisor.

Supervisor: “Nah, there’s no compensation. She’s done nothing wrong.”

And he explains everything to the manager.

Customer: “The customer is always right!”

Supervisor: “No, not happening. Pay and leave, please.”

Meanwhile, I was looking at the guy’s wife. She clearly just wanted to get their food and go, but he was still trying to get his free stuff. She walked out the door, and he finally followed her, realizing he was getting nothing.

He asked for the senior discount, so he was over fifty-five. I think I’m actually older than he is, and I was raised better; I know not to harass people just trying to do their jobs. But after over sixty years, I finally heard the phrase, “I want to talk to the manager!”

I’m working my part-time job at donut place that also serves hot breakfasts. It’s during Christmas and it’s completely dead. I have no idea why I am even here. This is on a college campus to boot. But then, this woman comes in, still in her pajamas:

Customer: “I need everything!”

Me: “What do you mean, ma’am?”

Customer: “The big breakfast I was going to make for my family, all the meat and eggs, it’s been torn into by my dog in the middle of the night!”

She hasn’t slept since 2 AM (the dog also ate some chocolate, so I am guessing there were medical concerns) and needs breakfast for fifteen people. It’s just me and the manager; a really chill older lady. We give each other a quick look, and get right to work. We fill boxes in minutes and throw in extra everything while she waits at a table.

My manager brings her an extra-large coffee, on the house, and she breaks into tears.

Within ten minutes we’ve loaded her up with bagels, muffins, donuts, croissants, and enough coffee to give a hummingbird a heart attack. 

We help her load it into her car, and she gives us each a $50 tip and drives home. That was my only good day at that job.

At our burger place, we always have burgers cooking on the hot plate, since we get a lot of volume. Sometimes when the rush dies down, we move some of the unsold but cooked patties onto a heated surface where they’re good for a little longer before we either eat them ourselves (free staff lunch) or sadly discard them (although this happens rarely).

Customer: “I want a cheeseburger, and I want it fresh.”

I’m not the one taking the order, but I am making it. Since he’s specifically asked for “fresh”, I go to the freshly-cooking patties on the hot plate, but then the customer shouts out to me.

Customer: “No! I said fresh! I want those ones there!”

He points to the older patties sitting on the heated surface.

Me: “Oh, those are older burgers, so they’re not as fresh as—”

Customer: “Don’t lie to me! I saw you put those burgers out just a few seconds ago!”

Me: “Yes, because they’re—”

Customer: “Don’t talk back to me! Just give me the burger I want!”

I simply shrug and do as he asks. As the customer is given his burger:

Customer: “You think you can shift an older burger to me, but I’m smarter than you realized, eh? I’m onto your money-saving ways at the expense of the customer!”

I am sitting down eating my food at a fast food place. Two firefighters have already ordered and are waiting for their food. A couple ahead of them has just received their food.

Suddenly, the fire truck outside starts its siren, and the two firefighters immediately turn on their heels. Without hesitation, they’re sacrificing their already-paid-for lunch for the next emergency. The couple runs up to them and keeps pace with them, never slowing down.

Couple: “Wait, take ours! Hopefully, you can chow down on the way!”

They basically shove their food into the firefighter’s arms as they beeline for the fire truck.

Both Firemen: “Thank you, so much!”

The couple then calmly walks back into the fast food place, gets in line again, and reorders their meals.

Manager: “I saw all that. No way are you two paying again.”

This moment restored my faith in humanity more than a little bit!