(I live in a Swedish-speaking area and have a Russian surname. It’s by no means as complicated as some Russian names can be, but some people still tend to skip saying it, referring to me by my first name, or by my first name and the first letter of my surname, especially in class or when I’ve booked something under my name. I’ve long since gotten used to that, even if it bothers me sometimes, but this girl takes the cake.)

Me: “Hi, I have a breakfast reservation under [My Name].”

Worker: *snarky* “Oh. Right. You’re the one who booked under that name.”

Me: “Er, yes?”

Worker: *laughs* “I’m not even going to try to say that.”

Me: “Okay. Thanks?”

(I mean, come on. To all who struggle with foreign names, sometimes it actually feels better if you try and fail to pronounce our names, rather than just publicly declare you won’t be bothered. We’re part of our community, too.)

Related:
Named And Shamed, Part 6
Named And Shamed, Part 5
Named And Shamed, Part 4
Named And Shamed, Part 3
Named And Shamed, Part 2

(The men in my family tend to start suffering from hair loss in their mid-20s, and mine seems to have started, so I go to a nearby pharmacy to buy certain shampoo recommended by my stepfather. Note that I have grown my hair for a few years and it’s currently some 18 to 20 inches long.)

Employee: “Hello, can I help you with anything?”

Me: “Yes, I was looking for certain shampoo but don’t remember the name of the product.”

Employee: “What kind of shampoo? For dry hair, or–”

Me: “For hair loss.”

Employee: *goes silent and stares at my long hair, then grabs a bottle off a shelf* “Well, we have this one.”

Me: “That’s the product; thank you!”

(I only realized what had happened after I got back home.)

(I’m in a convention with role-playing games such as LARPs and tabletop games as its theme. There are some dressing rooms for putting on costumes, and I’m there, chatting with a couple of other people as we get into our outfits. I’m in a post-apocalyptic getup and am about to add war paint on my face, when a little girl comes in with her mother.)

Girl: *looks at me as I paint a red hand-print over a black mask painted over my eyes* “Hi! Have you been coming here for long?”

Me: *though I don’t know the girl, I’m used to people of all ages making easy chit-chat in this particular event* “About five years, so I guess not that long. How about you?”

Girl: *proudly* “I was zero years old when I first came to this con! Mom brought me.”

Me: “Cool! You’ve been doing this for a long time then.”

Girl: “What are you dressed up as?”

Me: “I’m a post-apocalyptic scavenger and an explorer. Are you going to dress up?”

Girl: *beaming and with great pride* “Yep! I’m going to be a ninja geisha!”

Me: “That’s awesome!”

(As I speak, my heart is busy melting because the girl is so excited about the whole thing, and it made me remember how I wanted to be a warrior princess when I was little. It was absolutely adorable!)

You Can “(My friend is the manager of a hotel in our town, and is also the DJ. The restaurant is having an eighties theme night, and he plays the music from that era. Past midnight, a quite-drunk man comes to him and makes demands.)

Customer: “You need to play something better! Play some new stuff!”

DJ: *jokingly* “Sorry, sir, but tonight is the night of the dinosaurs.”

Customer: *upset* “But I want some good music!”

(Again my friend shakes his head. The drunk man raises his voice and shouts:)

Customer: “If you don’t play the music I want to hear, right now, you will be very sorry. I know the manager of this place! I will call him and have you fired!”

DJ: *with a smile* “Really?”

Customer: “Yes! Will you play something better, now?”

DJ: “It is still a no!”

(The customer goes away, cursing. The DJ tells me later:)

DJ: “I really wish he would have gotten my number and called me right there. It would have been nice to see his face when I picked up my phone and looked him in the face and said, ‘Hello?’”

(I am conducting customer interviews for a local mall, by phone. Note that I have to ask the age of the interviewees so we don’t get too many answers from our older customers.)

Customer: “Hi!”

Me: “Hi, this is [My Name] from [Company]!”

(Silence.)

Me: “We are conducting customer interviews regarding malls. Would you have the time to answer a few questions?”

Customer: “I guess I do.”

Me: “Okay, may I first ask your age?”

Customer: “I don’t have the time, bye.” *hangs up*