Recently, I have been getting a lot of calls from telemarketers. This one has called me a total of four times, every time early in the morning.

I’m sleeping and my phone starts to vibrate on my nightstand.

Me: “[My Name].”

The telemarketer starts his spiel. I hang up and try going back to sleep. My phone starts vibrating and it’s the same number, so I answer with the intention of giving him a piece of my mind, but instead, the telemarketer manages to speak first.

Telemarketer: “Hello again. It seems we got disconnected—”

Me: “Actually, I hung up as I want to sleep. I don’t want your magazine; don’t call again!”

I hang up.

The next morning, a Friday, my phone wakes me up again. I try to answer, but the caller hangs up immediately. I forget the call for the time being.

On Monday, my phone vibrates again.

Me: “[My Name].”

The telemarketer starts his spiel once again, not even bothering to check who he’s talking to.

I start raising my voice with every word after the second “No,” as the first two have no effect.

Me: “No, No, NO, NO, NO! NO! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”

The telemarketer speaks with the most irritatingly sneering tone I have ever heard.

Telemarketer: “There’s no need to yell.”

Me: “I wouldn’t have had to had you just listened to when I first said, ‘No!’”

I give him a piece of my mind, asking why he won’t just leave me alone already. He replies that I can always end the call myself; note that this is definitely the same guy that immediately called me back the first time I hung up on him.

Me: “…also I was sleeping and I want to get back to sleep as soon as possible!”

Telemarketer: “Well, that’s your own fault for keeping your phone on!”

Me: “I want to talk to your supervisor.”

Telemarketer: “I am alone here.”

Me: “I hear someone’s voice in the background.”

Telemarketer: “That’s my coworker.”

Me: “So, you are telling me that you and your coworkers are working without a supervisor?”

Telemarketer: “Yes.”

Me: “What’s your name?”

Telemarketer: “[Telemarketer].”

Me: “You’ll be hearing from me very soon.”

The telemarketers used to hide their caller IDs but have since stopped doing it as people stopped answering calls with the ID hidden, meaning I was able to track down the company’s contact info. I also realised he had called me a total of four times over the course of three consecutive banking days. I managed to figure out which branch he worked at, and I called the branch manager.

The manager was not pleased when I recounted the events, mentioning how I’d made it quite clear the first time around that I did not want them to call me again. By calling four times in three days, they were, in fact, harassing me.

This was over a month ago now and they haven’t called me again.

I gave birth — after two days of trying naturally — via emergency cesarean. Natural just wasn’t happening, and when the fetal heartbeat started failing, I consented to surgery, of course. The baby is fine and beautiful.

Friend: “Oh, don’t feel too bad. There’s really no shame in a cesarean.”

Me: “Huh? Of course not. I’m just glad we’re both okay.”

Friend: “I am so glad you can see it that way!”

Me: “Is there some other way of seeing it?”

It turned out that her mother-in-law had stormed into the hospital after her cesarean and extensively berated her for “not being a proper woman,” “not trying hard enough,” and “being too lazy to give birth.” If this is a site for stories of people behaving badly, I can’t think of much worse behavior than attacking a young mother recovering from a difficult birth for “giving birth wrong.”

I work at a computer store that offers fixed-price computer-virus and trojan removal.

Customer: “I think my computer has a computer-virus; it says something odd when it starts.”

Me: “Okay, let’s have a look.”

I boot the machine and it gives a message about a pirated copy of Windows.

Customer: “That’s the computer-virus!”

Me: “No, it says that because it has an illegal copy of the operating system. They release updates that include checks every now and then, and they’ve discovered yours is a fake.”

Customer: “The kids must have gotten that when the antivirus expired.”

Me: “Um, no. It’s been like that since it was installed.”

Customer: “You advertise computer-virus removal; remove it!”

Me: “It’s not a computer-virus; it’s an illegal piece of software.”

Customer: “You have to do it; you advertise it!”

Me: “I’d be happy to remove any malware from your computer, but it wouldn’t still remove the error message you are seeing. I can’t remove your operating system unless you want me to install a legit copy.”

Customer: “Thanks for nothing, nerd!”

The customer grabbed his laptop and then walked out, kicking the doors.

I’m working as a trainee in a library. I’m sitting behind the desk, processing a pile of reserved books, when an older customer with a child around age five or six, her grandchild, comes to borrow books. After the borrowing is done, I hand her books and her library card.

Customer: “Thank you.”

Me: “You’re welcome.”

Customer: *To her grandchild* “What do you say?”

Grandchild: *Not really paying attention* “You’re welcome!”

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!

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

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