I’m twenty or twenty-one, and I’m checking out an older man.

Customer: “Can I set you up on a date with my grandson?”

Me: “What?!”

Customer: “You’re not wearing any rings!”

I really didn’t appreciate that.

I once worked in an office where I built apps for large businesses. My boss was a frat boy and never seemed to have grown out of it, and a few of our clients were in his fraternity. As you might imagine, this led to a lot of bad behavior.

One client was the absolute worst — just a complete sexist pig — but I would suck it up because I was young and well-paid, so I didn’t want to mess things up. One day, that all changed.

Client: “Hey, [My Name], how’s it going?”

Me: “Fine.”

Client: “The app is looking great! I’d love to take you out sometime to thank you.”

Me: “That’s not necessary. Thanks, though.”

Client: “Come onnn! It’s just dinner! Plus, if you keep up the good work, I may have to steal you and hire you on for in-house work.”

Me: “Really, no, thank you. And I’m not looking to leave [Company] right now.”

I realized then I was thirsty, so I got up with my water bottle to go refill it. I brushed past the client, but one of his hands cupped my butt cheek. I immediately whipped around and punched him in the nose.

Client: “Ow! What the—”

Me: “You touched my a**, right in front of my coworkers and a camera! You’d better be ready to hear from my lawyer.

I didn’t have a lawyer yet, but I knew I would. Just then, my boss came out.

Boss: “[My Name], come here.”

I stormed into his office, naively hoping he would side with me.

Boss: “Why did you just punch [Client]?”

Me: “Because he grabbed my a**!”

Boss: “That’s not a good enough reason. He’s reported you have an attitude with him any time you two talk. Because of these repeated issues, I’m going to have to fire you immediately.”

Me: “You can’t be serious.”

Boss: “Look, you’re a beautiful woman. I would have grabbed your butt, too, if it were that close to me.”

Me: “You would what?!”

And that’s how I ended up suing both my ex-employer and the client, winning enough money from the settlements that I won’t owe a dime while I go to law school so I can help more women in my situation.

This story is part of our Even-More-Highest-Voted-Stories-Of-2023-(so far!) roundup!

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As a student, I worked at my local library part-time over vacations and holidays. One of the library regulars took to following me around, cornering me alone, and asking for my name and number. My coworkers knew and took measures to ensure that I was rarely out in the stacks by myself, but the supervisor refused to intervene.

On my first day back after the semester ended, the regular found me and left a detailed and obscene note on my book cart. I walked back to the supervisor’s office to quietly throw it away and try and compose myself.

Coworker #1: “Have you met the new supervisor yet?” *Pauses* “Are you okay?”

Me: “I’m fine. That guy saw me, and he left this disgusting note on my cart.”

New Supervisor: “Wait, what?”

Me: “It’s nothing. There’s just this regular who likes to… watch me work. I’ve been ignoring him, but he doesn’t stop.”

Coworker #1: “He follows her around the shelves if he sees her and tries to get personal information.”

Coworker #2: “Yeah, we do our best to keep an eye on her. He’s never written a note before.”

New Supervisor: “Let me see that.”

She took the note from me and read it, and there was pure rage on her face.

New Supervisor: “How dare he? How dare he treat one of the librarians like this? I can’t believe no one has done something. Did [Previous Supervisor] know?”

Me: “I told him when this started last year—”

New Supervisor: “LAST YEAR?”

Me: “Um, yeah, last year, and he said that I should ignore him, he wasn’t really doing anything, and I just shouldn’t encourage him.”

New Supervisor: “Can you point him out to me?”

We walked out into the stacks together, and the regular popped out from one aisle, grinning. He clearly expected me to be alone and scuttled back down the aisle when he saw [New Supervisor].

New Supervisor: “Is that him?”

Me: “Yes.”

New Supervisor: “I will take care of this, and he will never bother you again. You’re working in and around the office today.”

I never saw that regular again. He was banned from the library, and [New Supervisor] had me write up an account — with my coworkers’ testimonials and support — of his harassment to present to the Board Of Directors. After they read it, he was banned from every library in the county. I went on to work at the library for several more years, loving my job and fully confident that [New Supervisor] had my back.

This story is part of our Even-More-Highest-Voted-Stories-Of-2023-(so far!) roundup!

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During the utterly unprecedented snowfall that hit Texas like a semi-truck going the wrong way down a busy highway, there was a day I had to walk to a supermarket because my car just plain refused to start. As it was very, VERY cold, I was wearing layers: a sweatshirt, a hoodie, a beanie, a snood (which is basically a fitted mask from nose to neck), and flannel pajama pants under my jeans.

On top of my hoodie was an old military jacket that I bought from a thrift store which didn’t provide a lot of cover, but layers are layers, and it was cold.

I also happened to have the bottoms of my jeans tucked into the tops of my work boots to keep the two feet of snow I had to trudge through out of my pants. These boots — to play devil’s advocate — could be mistaken for military boots at a distance, even though they’re not.

When I was just about to walk into the supermarket that some woman I’d never seen before (and never saw again) sprinted up to me and almost literally shoved her phone in my face, clearly recording.

Stranger: “Hey! You can’t wear that!”

Me: *Blinks* “…Huh?”

Stranger: *Points at my jacket* “Take that off! It’s stolen valor!”

I looked down at myself and blinked again.

Me: “…It’s a jacket.”

Stranger: “You’re trying to get a discount! Just buy your groceries like everyone else!”

I realized she was recording me, like the “Stolen Valor Revealed” videos on YouTube. I decided, perhaps naively, to try and explain the misunderstanding.

Me: “Oh, no, you’re mistaken. I’m not trying to get a military discount—”

She interrupted me and poked me in the chest to indicate my jacket.

Stranger: “Why else would you wear that, then?!”

It took me a few seconds to look around at the TWO FEET of snow that had gotten dumped on Texas almost overnight and then back at her.

Me: “‘Cause it’s cold.”

She blinked, took a moment herself to look around, and then blinked again. I could almost hear the gears clicking in her head as they stalled out after being given simple logic. At that point, I figured that, while she was distracted, I was just going to get inside the supermarket before my hands turned blue. And that way, I would have witnesses around me in case she escalated matters.

As it happened, I didn’t see the lady again until I was heading for the registers, and she was “hidden” behind a display, evidently thinking she was being sneaky, with her phone up again, ready to call me out. So, I preempted it.

Me: *To the cashier* “Just for the record, this jacket isn’t to mark me military; it’s just because it’s cold.”

The cashier looked a bit confused, as though I didn’t even need to say that, before nodding politely.

Cashier: “Um, okay, sir. Do you have a loyalty card?”

The transaction went without a hitch; I paid with my card, and I very specifically did NOT get any kind of discount. The woman who’d approached me wasn’t there anymore, and I figured she’d given up and found someone else to bother.

That was until I made my way to the front door. Ms. Stolen Valor was standing next to it with the very confused-looking manager in tow. I let out a sigh and held my receipt out to him before she could throw around any accusations.

Me: “Here’s my receipt. She’s claiming stolen valor, right?”

The manager also sighed, already looking like it had been a long day, took my receipt, gave it a quick pass with his eyes, and then handed it back to me.

Manager: “You’re fine, sir. Was she bothering you before?”

Me: “Yeah, she ambushed me outside, and she tried to sneak a video at the registers, but I basically ignored her. Am I free to go?”

The strange woman was going red in the face and was possibly two seconds from stomping her feet.

Manager: “Unless you want to file a harassment charge, sure.”

Me: “That won’t be necessary; it’s too cold. Sorry to leave you with her.”

Manager: *Chuckles mirthlessly* “I’ll live, I hope.”

I nodded politely to the manager and then passed right by the accusing woman. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was seething, clearly upset that she didn’t get a million-view callout video or whatever, but I just plain did not care. The manager, however, did keep her with him so she didn’t follow me down the street, and I can only imagine — and hope — that she at least got a reprimand for her antics.

I guess at the end of the day, I didn’t steal any valor, but I did get my time wasted.

It’s a rather slow day. My male coworker is on his break so it’s only me working up front. A middle-aged man pops into the store.

Me: “Hi! Welcome! What can I get started for you?”

I am a young adult woman with many facial and ear piercings. Normally, people don’t make any comments, but the man seems intrigued by my piercings.

Customer: “Hey! I wanted to get a coffee ice cream. Woah! Those are some cool piercings!”

Me: “Oh, haha, thank you! What size can I get you?”

Customer: “You look really sexy with those earrings. Are you doing anything after your shift?”

Me: “Oh, well, I’m closing, so I won’t be out anytime soon. What size can I get you, sir?”

Customer: “You should let me take you out. I bet I can show you a good time.”

This goes on for the whole transaction until we reach the register where I try to give him his total.

Me: “All right, sir, your total is [amount].”

Customer: “Well, if you ever change your mind, I’d love to take you out or even wait until you’re off shift. Have my card and call me if you want a real man.”

Me: “Uh, okay, thanks. Have a good day, sir.”

I had to run to the back to go show my coworker the business card. The man had handed me a business card with not only his full name, phone number, and email, but his Instagram, Facebook, Kik, Snapchat, and even his AOL and Yahoo Messenger account name! The card even said, “Let me show you a good time,” on the edges. I guess some people never give up!