I work at a coffee shop at an international airport in Florida. There is a Chinese woman who serves as some sort of monk liaison, and she comes into the store bi-monthly; monks like caramel Frappuccino, FYI.

Every time she comes in, she orders an iced coffee with cream and sugar. After she pays, she goes to the pick-up counter, waits for the barista to hand off her drink, and demands that they add whip cream and caramel, which are add-ons and cost extra. It is a small thing, the whip and caramel, but it costs us money which causes our loss prevention officer to think we are stealing in a big-picture sense. It is a licensed store, so there is none of that free beverage stuff that other stores can get away with.

Once you have given someone who knows better something for free without any perceivable gratitude, a seed of resentment is planted. We all have resentment blooming in our bellies for this lady. Finally, one day, one of my baristas loses her cool a little and tells the woman:

Barista: “We all remember you when you come in, you know. I know you know that this is not free, and this is the last time that we are doing this for you without charging you.”

When the words come out of her mouth, I am slightly proud but cringe because I know what is going to happen next.

Customer: “I want to speak to the manager.”

That’s me!

She starts screaming at me because my barista “yelled” at her.

Me: “I’m sorry you feel mistreated; however, I was standing next to the barista and she didn’t raise her voice.”

Customer: *Starts screaming at me* “It is not nice to be yelled at! She yelled at me and that is rude! It is very rude to yell at people!”

As everyone within a thirty-foot radius stares at us, mouths agape, I respond the only way I can.

Me: “Yes, it is very rude to yell at people. Very, very rude to yell at people. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

This was a few months ago. She came in and asked for an iced coffee a couple of days ago. I opted to make it for her his time. When I was through, I handed it to her and she started to ask for something, but I looked her in her eyes with an unflinching gaze. She stopped, took her drink, and sat down.

While this woman is a total pain, I still don’t mind too much because waiting on monks is pretty cool.

A couple of stressed middle-aged customers come into our restaurant.

Customer: “Um, can we be sat somewhere quiet, away from kids?”

Me: “I don’t think that’s possible.”

Customer: “Why not?!”

I look at the hordes of excited children dancing around famous characters.

Me: “Sir, this is Disney World.”

My cat has Cholangiohepatitis, a chronic liver disease. She is currently on three medications: two in pill form and one in liquid. The liquid is purchased at a specialty pharmacy.

I called for a refill so I could pick it up on my Friday off. I ran some errands and then went to the pharmacy. When I arrived, they looked for it and eventually found that the form for the refill was stuck to the back of a different person’s order. They apologized profusely and suggested that I run some errands if I had any. I said I’d just wait.

After a twenty-minute or so wait, where I entertained myself by looking at all the vitamins, supplements, and knickknacks around the waiting area, the lady behind the counter brought out the medication. As I pulled out my credit card to pay, she said:

Receptionist: “Because we messed up, but also because you didn’t yell at us for our error, I’m giving you a 10% discount.” 

And that’s how being patient and nice earned me a discount for my cat’s normally $45 liquid meds. Thank you, kind pharmacy lady!

I’m a manager of a restaurant that delivers steak, chicken, and burger meals.

A customer calls in with a complaint that the food they got made them and their partner sick, and they want a refund. After some back and forth, I tell them to give the food back to the driver and their money will be refunded.

They call after a while since the driver hasn’t arrived with the refund yet.

Customer: “Where’s our money? We’ve been waiting a long time.”

Me: “The driver is on the way. He’ll be there shortly.”

Customer: “He’d better. We got pizza coming and need the money to pay for it.”

This was before cell phones were common, so I couldn’t call the driver and tell him to cancel the refund and come back to the store.

My brother manages a DVD rental store. On a Friday, I pop in to share lunch. A tropical storm has been updated to a hurricane. A woman flies into the store in a panic, dashes to the children’s section, and grabs twelve DVDs. Upon checking out, she says:

Customer: “I want to make sure the kids have something to watch if the electricity goes out.”

My brother and I turn and look at one another and then look back at her. She is already out the door. We laugh and shake our heads.

Brother: “Does she understand… if she has no electricity…”

My brother told me she returned on Monday, in a tiff and all disheveled, to return the DVDs. She wanted her money back because her children couldn’t watch them; they still didn’t have electricity.

My brother comped her just because it was so hilarious, and he didn’t want her to see him laughing.

Related:
Weathering The Storm Of Stupidity