I’m a cashier at a huge grocery store during a weekend shopping rush. I work at the fifteen-or-less lane, and the line is already quite long when a woman in her fifties gets in the line with a cart full of groceries. I remind her about the policy on the express lane — all we can do — and this ensues.

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but this is fifteen items or less.”

Customer #1: “I’m not waiting in those f****** lines. I’m in a hurry. Just do your f****** job.”

Customer #2: “So are all of the rest of us. That is why we just stopped by to pick up the absolutely necessary stuff and came to the express line.”

Customer #1: “Just mind your own business.”

[Customer #1] starts piling up her groceries to the belt when I hear a loud whistle. It’s [Customer #2]. Everyone stops what they’re doing and starts looking for where the noise came from. [Customer #2] starts to talk with a loud voice to everyone in the store.

Customer #2: “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, could I please have a second of your time? I’m conducting a poll about a little situation we have here at the express lane. We have this woman here—” *pointing at her* “—who is refusing to leave the express lane even though she has a cart full of groceries and the cashier has asked her politely, and she is cursing at her. I would like to take a poll if people think she’s an entitled a**hole or not. If you think she is right and absolutely entitled to use the express lane, make some noise!”

Crickets.

Customer #2: “Aaand! If you think that she is an entitled b**** who should drag her cart to a normal line, make some noise now!”

People started clapping and making noise. The first customer, now beet red in the face, shouted, “F*** you!” and stormed out of the store. I had to call someone to put her things away, but that was definitely worth it!

While my job isn’t too far away from where I live, the bus trip and walking always take around an hour each way. Sometimes I’m away for almost twelve hours. Because of that, my husband is usually the one to take our kids — a two- and four-year-old — to and from kindergarten.

When I have early shifts and get home around six pm and the weather is good, they will stand out on our balcony and wave for me. It’s on the second floor in a building complex close to the city center.

Our four-year-old has recently decided that yelling, “Mom! Hi!”, at the top of her lungs for the whole world to know isn’t enough, so now she adds:

“MOM! MOM! YOU ARE VERY MUCH LOVED!”

Thank you, sweetheart. I love you, too.

This story is included in our Feel-Good roundup for July 2020!

Read the next Feel-Good Story here!

Read the July 2020 Feel-Good roundup!

I’ve parked my car and rushed to get a parking coupon from a machine. You put coins in the machine and press the “OK” button, it prints you a coupon that states how long you can park your car, and you have to put that coupon inside your car window.

I’ve just put coins in the machine and am searching for more when somebody right beside me reaches for the “OK” button. When I turn my head to see what is happening, there is an elementary school kid, nine or so and probably on his way from school, frantically pressing the “OK” button, looking at me. I just stare at him and suddenly, he runs off.

The machine processes the transaction and after a while, it prints me a ticket that has too little parking time for me to use.

I work in a small video rental store almost outside of the city borders, so we have only a small amount of money in the till at a time. A customer is buying candy.

Me: “Okay, so it is €1 and 80 cents.”

The customer hands me €100. We just had some trouble with some customers using fake notes so we can’t take bigger than €20.

Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t take these big notes.”

Customer: “So, the candy is free, then?”

Me: *Confused* “Why should it be?”

Customer: “I have money but you won’t accept it! I should get it free, then!”

Me: “I’m sorry, I don’t have enough money to give you back. We have a policy to not take larger than twenties. Do you have another form of payment?”

Customer: “Oh… I think I have… Oh, yes, I have a card.”

I’m the goofy customer in this story.
I’m currently working in my former home town and I go to have lunch in an upscale Mexican food restaurant that I’ve had excellent dinner before.
The waitress sits me down, brings the lunch menu, I order, eat a delicious lunch, have my coffee and leave. I stop outside to light up a cigarette and just as I start walking towards my car the waitress storms outside:
Waiter: “Sir. Excuse me, Sir! Did you forget something?”
Dumbfounded, I quickly rummage through my pockets just to find all my belongings exactly where they’re supposed to be, even my security name tag hanging from my neck (I always remove it while I eat to make sure I won’t get any food on it).
Me: “No, everything seems to be in order. I could swear I wasn’t wearing a hat when I came in”
Waiter, looking very unconfortable “Sir, I think you forgot to pay”.
Me, realizing I just walked out without paying: “Oh for heaven’s sakes. My apologies. I must be too used to the small pizzerias and kebeb stands where you pay up front” (which actually is the case in 95% of lunch places around here)
It would have taken me weeks to notice that my bookkeeping is missing the receipt from that day’s lunch if I had noticed it at all! The waiter was surprisingly professional and discreet about the whole affair as I was probably blushing with shame.
Interestingly I just had a case in the next town, right next to their other reastaurant which I naturally had lunch in, and they DO take money up front for lunch. Wonder if my absent-mindness actually caused a change of lunchtime procedures in the two-restaurant chain :-)
Not a first-time offence for me, though, I’ve gassed up my car at least twice in the local gas station during daytime when they were still open – so the automatic card payment is closed and you have to pay inside – and since I usually refuel late at night, out of old habit I just got into my car and drove home. Luckily they recognized my car and didn’t call the cops right away as I was already ten miles away when it hit me that I’m not sure if I used the card payer and called the station to confirm X-D
Apparently this happens a lot since they weren’t at all angry about it…