I started a new job as a lorry driver and had perhaps the worst possible thing happen on delivery. I lowered my tail lift to the ground, and the back door man took the delivery off and reloaded my tail lift with waste and returns. Our tail lifts have ramps that lock upright to restrain the load on the tail lift. It is impossible for me to see from the trailer, and the back door guy must ensure that it is safely locked before I move the tail lift. He gave me the all-clear and I lifted away. I pulled a cage off the tail lift into the trailer and I heard the worst possible noises: crashes and the screaming of a child.

I lept out of the trailer and noticed that the contents of the tail lift had fallen off the unlocked ramp and landed on a small girl who was passing by with her school group. She seemed mostly unhurt but obviously upset. She had two teachers looking after her, so I ran to the back door guy to ask what had happened. He hadn’t stowed the tail lift and was having a cigarette when he should have been supervising.

I reported the incident to my office, and then I followed their advice and reported the incident via the store’s incident report line. The back door guy lied and said that nothing had hit the girl, just landed near her and scared her. When I got back to the yard, I went straight to the office and wrote a statement admitting to any errors I think I made, as well as the fact that it was witnessed and I took details.

Fast forward a month. I’m dragged into a meeting and suspended pending investigation and likely sacking. The manager attempts to steamroll me, but I manage to speak up.

Me: “I will not sign anything here or agree to anything without a Union representative present.”

Reluctantly, the manager calls in a rep, who talks me through everything. He has me accept the suspension and explains that it’s a formality and that the main investigation will be where I can make my case. He somehow gets the investigation arranged for the next day. During the investigation, he lets me speak but adds context or helps me to explain things better. At the end of the meeting, he makes his own statement, which calls out the main three reasons that I was suspended.

Rep: “‘Number one: the incident wasn’t reported properly.’ [My Name] followed the direct advice of management and then further wrote a statement without being prompted. ‘Number two: the tail lift ramp was not secured.’ It was impossible for [My Name] to see if the ramp was secure, and he relied on the back door guy to clear it. He can’t be held accountable for the ramp since he wouldn’t have been able to secure it even if he did see it. ‘Number three: [My Name] did not immediately check on the person who had been injured.’ Firstly, had the ramp been stowed, this would not have happened. Second, the girl was being attended to by her teachers, and [My Name] wouldn’t have been able to help much more. He did offer to call an ambulance and offered to share details when asked. All in all, whilst this is a horrible, unfortunate incident, [My Name] was incredibly unlucky to get caught up and did everything right from his end. I don’t see why it took a month for this to be investigated since [My Name] did report it.”

The end result was that I was completely cleared of fault. The back door guy was sacked for not doing his job properly and not reporting the incident. The store manager was sacked because he did not ensure that his staff knew the correct back door procedures, and the third back door guy (who should have assisted with the delivery in the first place) was put on final warning for not doing his assigned duties. (He was actually clocked out on break during the incident.)

Shortly after the lockdown in my area ended, everyone was required to wear masks in public. It was kind of annoying because stores could get fined if a customer didn’t have a mask on. I mean, I understand the reasoning, but it’s not like it’s MY fault that a customer stepped in the door and got missed in the bustle. But whatever.

This guy comes in without a mask, so we ask him — very nicely — to put one on, and he just goes off, screaming about his rights, and blah, blah, blah.

Now, I have allergies and, due to sinus drainage, I get this ridiculous deep-throat cough that literally sounds like I have tuberculosis or something. It strikes without warning, and I cannot control it, usually for a good two or three minutes. It’s bad.

This guy is at the height of his rant when my cough strikes!

My coworkers are actually all used to my cough and typically explain to customers that it’s just from allergies. This time, they all collectively — without discussing it — decide to use this opportunity and take a step back from me.

The guy’s rant fizzles quickly and he slowly backs out of the store, and my coworkers share a laugh. I join them once I’m done coughing!

I work in a life insurance call center where I primarily deal with agents and agent staff.

Caller: “If cryogenic freezing occurred and they were able to successfully reanimate the client long after the insurance payout had already occurred, would they have to pay it back?”

I transferred them to life claims since I only handled policy service.

It baffles me sometimes the things people tell pharmacists and doctors.

[Customer] comes in and buys medication. She comes to me and wants some advice on using some of the things she bought. I’m happy to help. She bought some liver cleansers and colon cleansers and wants to do a “detox”.

Me: “Just follow the directions on the bottle.”

I don’t really press these customers; she’s not elderly-looking, so I think it’s just those trends they follow online.

Customer: “I’m on blood pressure medication, and I read that medication stresses the liver, so you should do a detox of the liver and stop the medication during that time to ease the stress.”

I take my time questioning and explaining. She understands what I’m saying and why she shouldn’t worry about what she saw or read. BUT…

Customer: “I still feel the stress on my liver!”

HOW? JUST HOW… do you feel the stress on your liver?

Now I’m thinking, “Well, s*** bricks! I studied for years and practiced even more than that, and I’m wrong. Thank you, random information on the Internet. You have defeated me with your expertise.”

Well, I do what I do best. I smile, say okay, and move on to the next customer.

I work in a supermarket cafe and I have mild eczema on my forearms. For anyone who doesn’t know, eczema is a skin condition where your skin is flaky, red raw, scabbed up, and sore. My eczema is visible at work and no customer has ever complained about it ever up until today.

I took food over to the s***head customer and after I walked away, he called my manager over and said:

Customer: “That worker should cover up! They’re putting me off of my meal!”

My manager’s face instantly changed and he looked so angry. I felt extremely offended and wanted to cry. This customer essentially said I was so off-putting that he couldn’t eat his meal.

Manager: “Not only have you deeply offended my worker but you have offended me. Eczema isn’t contagious nor is it unhygienic. If you feel as if my worker is putting you off of your food simply due to his skin then I ask that you leave this cafe and grow up.”

The man was about thirty years old and he had been well and truly put in his place, I couldn’t stop smiling.