I am cleaning up outside our grocery store after some rain. I see a woman fall in a puddle, and I rush over to her.

Me: “Are you okay? Do you want some help up?”

She angrily slaps my hand away as I reach out to help.

Customer: “NO! I WANT TO SIT HERE ALL F****** DAY!”

Before I can stop myself, I say:

Me: “Okay, let me know when you’re ready to get up.” 

And I walked away!

I work for a customer assistance call center. Customers call in with questions, and we call back with answers.

I had one client who, somehow, kept getting put on my schedule to call back, and her question had nothing to do with our company. I told her three times that we only help with matters related to our products. Finally, I asked her to stop calling and wasting our time.

She showed up on my schedule again, and I simply skipped her and called the next. This happened a few times. I did eventually learn why she gravitated to me: a few coworkers of mine had conspired to get her switched to my schedule as a “prank”.

A manager came to me with concerns and said that I should be calling the client back to answer, even though it was a waste of time. So, I called the number listed… and a fax machine screamed very loudly into my ear at the other end. It hurt.

I grabbed the manager and demonstrated that the client’s listed number was now linked to a fax machine. I also requested a medical day off due to ear pain from this event.

The manager was quite upset to learn about this prank. When I got back to the office, he told me that he had tracked down the client’s original number and called her up to let her know, in no uncertain terms, that if she ever played a fax machine prank like that, he would press charges.

(He had the police swing around to her house to talk to her, as well, but the police said a single time wasn’t enough to prove intent to harm.)

He also instructed the office to simply cancel any call-back appointments in the client’s name if she called in again.

She’s the first — and so far only — person that we’ve banned from service.

My coworkers who were attempting to prank me by repeatedly putting her into my queue were written up by Human Resources. I was also interviewed by HR as they were worried that the workplace was toxic for me due to this “prank”.

There are certain jobs that you simply cannot do working from home. Managing the actual computer hardware and cables so that everyone else can work from home is one of those.

Fortunately, the woman who manages the servers and equipment for my workplace actually volunteered to keep working from the office. When lockdown ended and we moved to a part-work-from-home-by-agreement model, she opted for “ad-hoc”, which means that she continued to work in the office.

A few people commented that [Hardware Worker] should work from home at least one day a week, but she brushed them off saying that her neck hurt when she did so.

I didn’t think anything of this comment until the day came that [Hardware Worker] was sick and chose to work from home. She video-called into our meeting with the executive directors with a beautiful white fur scarf around her neck.

And when the chief information officer opened the meeting, the fur scarf lifted its head to meow at us.

I was in close to a dozen meetings for the week or so [Hardware Worker] was at home. Her cat — who is an absolutely enormous boy that I swear must be part Maine Coon — never once moved from her shoulders the entire time.

A few years ago, I was hired at a large grocery store in the deli department. I was only a part-timer, but the established staff there were so welcoming and friendly, and I fit right in with my new team of coworkers. 

One afternoon, when we were quite busy, I had a customer come up to our deli counter. She was well-dressed and maybe in her fifties. I immediately went over to serve her.

Me: “Hello! What can I get for you?”

Customer: “Oh, it’s fine, honey. I don’t need anything. I just need to tell [Supervisor] that I am here and going into the restroom for a couple of minutes. Could you let her know as soon as possible, please? It is very important!” 

I was totally baffled as to why she needed my supervisor to know this.

Me: “Um… sure, I will tell her right now.” 

The lady headed for the customer toilets. 

[Supervisor] was busy with a customer, but I dutifully and politely interrupted, still baffled.

Me: “Sorry, [Supervisor], but there was a lady here just a moment ago who said it was extremely important to let you know that she has gone to use the restroom.”

Supervisor: “Great, [My Name]. Thank you for letting me know.”

She gave me no further explanation, and we went about our jobs. 

A couple of days later, the lady customer once more came to our counter. This time, she spoke to my coworker who had worked here much longer than me. I overheard their interaction.

Customer: “Oh, hey there, [Coworker]. Just letting you know ‘The Usual’.” *Smiles* “Make sure you tell [Supervisor]?” 

Coworker: “Of course, Mrs. [Customer]. I will let her know right now.” 

The lady headed for the restrooms again. 

I am sure I had a completely puzzled expression on my face, but we suddenly got a huge crowd all wanting our hot lunches, so I again put it out of my mind.

Much later, as we were beginning our closing procedures and cleaning and restocking, I suddenly remembered the customer’s strange request. Both [Coworker] and [Supervisor] were helping me clean. 

Me: “Um… guys, I know I haven’t worked here long, and you both have said that if I have any questions to never be afraid to ask, so umm… can someone please explain what happened earlier and also a few days ago? The nice lady who likes to announce to us that she needs the restroom? What is that all about?” 

Coworker: *Laughing* “I knew that was eating you up, [My Name]! Took you long enough to ask!” 

Supervisor: *Smiling* Yeah, [My Name]. We knew the curiosity was killing you there!”

They shared a smile, and then [Supervisor] explained. It seems that the customer suffers from epilepsy. She has just moved to the area and found herself shopping in our store for the first time a few months back. She felt a bit off, suspicious that she had an attack coming on. Not knowing anyone in the area or the store, she took herself off to the restroom hoping to have privacy if she did have an attack. The restroom was empty, and she had no sooner entered than she fell to the floor in a fit and banged her head on a sink on the way to the floor.

[Supervisor] happened to be on her way to the restrooms as it was her turn to clean them. She found [Customer], and as she had once been a nurse, she did her best to make [Customer] comfortable and called for an ambulance. She stayed with that lady while she came around and reassured her that she would be fine and that it was no trouble. [Supervisor] even accompanied [Customer] to the hospital, stayed with her, and made sure she got home safe once she was released.

The two had since become friends. A little arrangement they had come up with was that if [Customer] was shopping and needed the restroom, she always notified [Supervisor] in case the worst happened and it happened again, maybe being alone in the restroom and undiscovered for a while. She always let [Supervisor] know so that if she was gone longer than usual, [Supervisor] would check on her. The restroom is literally right beside our deli counter. 

Thankfully, it has never happened again since, and now that I have been let in on the little secret and also have done First Aid courses in the past, [Customer] is quite happy if I am the one to check on her if she is gone longer than usual. 

I loved that job and my amazing, caring team of coworkers, and I was sad when I left eventually for a job closer to home. I was presented with a lovely bunch of flowers at the end of my last day, and Mrs. [Customer] even came in to give me a big hug and a box of chocolates with a gorgeous “Thank You” card.

Best. Job. Ever.

CONTENT WARNING: Injury

I work at an outdoor/camping/adventure store.

Customer: “I want to buy a knife.”

Me: “This is our selection here.”

She grabs a knife before I can start explaining them.

Customer: “Are you sure these are sharp? They don’t look sharp!”

As she’s asking, she runs her finger down the blade. Confirming if the knife is sharp is not needed as blood starts to run out from her finger.

Customer: *Angry* “You should warn people that they’re sharp! People will want to test them!”

My manager responds before I can.

Manager: “All I can say, ma’am, is that it’s a good thing you didn’t want to buy a gun!”