I work for a fairly large company. Typically, once a year, we have a regional leadership meeting, and management from each location has two or three people attend. These meetings are usually Tuesday to Thursday and are held at a fairly nice resort-type hotel. However, the meeting schedules do not allow for much enjoyment of the facilities. They have always been scheduled so that there is a “travel day” on Monday, though, so that if folks want to bring spouses or families for the weekend, they can have a little relaxation prior to the meetings.

A few years ago, the meeting was changed and we were flown to California so we could visit the company headquarters. Fewer people took advantage of the extra days due to the expense of paying for flights for family members, but there were a few. My co-manager and I were friends and decided to fly out early and do some sightseeing. As typical, we booked our own reservation for the “extra” days since that part is not covered by the company.

Imagine my surprise when an email went out to the group that advised that they did not want us staying at the host hotel for personal stays prior to the meeting because they were worried about possible billing errors. Sadly, several people actually changed their hotels because of this.

I sent an email reply and advised that I was an adult and I would not let the company dictate my choices as it was my money and my time off to do as I wished. I suggested that the hotel probably wouldn’t appreciate them actively discouraging us from spending additional days there. I also pointed out that if the hotel was so poorly run that they didn’t think they were capable of keeping our separate personal stays separate from their large corporate event, maybe we should consider holding the event at a different facility.

I did, however, offer that if they wanted to reimburse me for the extra time — at double pay since it would be on my scheduled time off — and expense it would take for me to repack my belongings, switch hotels, and unpack again, I would consider it.

I got a reply email that simply said that it was fine for me to keep my reservation as it was. But I still shake my head that they somehow thought they could dictate how I spent my time off just because I chose the same venue as the event.

My cat’s name is Dinner; my boyfriend, who is Vietnamese American, named him. He hasn’t been feeling well (the cat), and the vet told me to bring in a fecal sample.

They are still doing business by car, so when I pull up and the vet tech comes out, I hand over the bag of poop.

Me: “This is for Dinner.”

Vet Tech: *Stammering* “Thank you?”

Then, I come to my senses.

Me: *Laughing* “It’s a sample from my cat, Dinner. The vet needs it.”

She was so professional and so polite, in spite of her “WTF” face.

I’m the lowest-ranking manager at my store. I have had to stay at home for nearly a week with my small child because she is sick; as a single mother, there’s no way for me to work when she’s ill. 

After nearly a full work week, I go back to work.

Everything seems to be fine, but I get a call from one of the assistant managers asking me to come to the office. I think nothing of it, because I call the store manager into the office when I need him.

Me: “Hey, what’s up? Sorry it took a few minutes; I was with a customer.”

Assistant Store Manager #1: “You know that cleaning and stocking the mop closet is your responsibility, right?”

Me: “Yes, I know.”

Assistant Store Manager #1: “Well, I had to clean and stock it this week, and it’s not my job to do so. Do you see why this isn’t okay?”

Me: “Well, I stocked it on Saturday, so it couldn’t have been too bad.”

Since in my state we legally are closed on Sundays, it would have been stocked for the upcoming week.

Assistant Store Manager #1: “I don’t care; it’s not my job to do this. The closet wasn’t stocked at all.”

Me: *To [Assistant Store Manager #2]*  “You saw me stock it last Saturday, right?”

Assistant Store Manager #2: “Yeah, because you asked what supplies we needed to order.”

Me: *To [Assistant Store Manager #1]* ” I’ve been gone all week. How could I have ‘fixed’ it if I wasn’t here? What was the problem?” 

Assistant Store Manager #1: *Pauses* “Well, the mop closet stinks!”

Me: “And I told you I’m fighting with the floor staff to stop leaving mops in dirty mop water, but none of you will back me up, so it is what it is.”

I STILL got yelled at, even if I didn’t get into official trouble.

I work for a family-owned chain of liquor stores in Texas. It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and we’ll be closed the next day due to Texas liquor laws. I’m the wine department lead; one of my coworkers comes up to me to ask me to help a customer that’s looking for wine.

Me: “Hello, sir, what can I help you find today?”

Customer: “Yeah, I need a case of this [Sweet, Cheap Sparkling Wine]. You’re supposed to have a case set aside at all times for [Customer], but you never have it!”

I’ve never seen this man in my life, and we’ve never had a standing order for this wine since I’ve been working at this location.

Me: “Let me check our inventory for you, sir.”

We only have three bottles at my location, but another of our locations less than ten minutes away shows that they have two full cases.

Me: “I’m so sorry, sir, but you’ve got the only three bottles we have in the store. [Other Location] has two cases, though, so they should be able to help you. Do you want me to call them and ask them to set nine more bottles aside? We can give you the case price at both locations.”

The customer has been rude up until this point, but he starts yelling in our packed store.

Customer: “I need those bottles, now! Here, not at [Other Location]! Call them and tell them to bring it to me!”

According to Texas liquor laws, we can’t transfer across the county line, and our other location isn’t in the same county as us — never mind the fact that our transfer trucks aren’t running during the third busiest day of the year for us.

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but [Other Location] is in [County], so we can’t do a transfer. Even if we could, though, we wouldn’t be able to get it until next week.”

Customer: “You’ve just ruined my Thanksgiving! I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!”

He stormed off and complained about me to my store manager, who ended up checking him out. He got even angrier when my manager pointed out, cheerfully, that the other location was just a straight shot ahead, with only one turn.

This story is part of the Thanksgiving 2022 roundup!

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It is a week before Christmas and my mom is visiting from out of state. My roommate, my mom, and I decide to keep with tradition and go to one of the better Christmas light displays. We are really excited! Money is tight, but I happen to know that this show is the cheapest one in town. We load ourselves into the car and, singing merrily, head out to see the lights.

To our horror, when we get to the venue, the price is more than double what we expected! We are crushed; it’s more than any of us can afford.

At just that moment, a man leaving the venue, kid in his arms and another running along playfully in front of him, flags us down. He explains that he has an extra ticket; he bought the family pack but not everyone could go, and he asks if we would like it. My mom, surprised by his generosity, gratefully accepts the ticket. As the man walks away with his cute kids, my mom looks at the ticket in her hands. Paging through the paper ticket, we belatedly realize that the man has given us, not one, but three whole tickets! It’s enough for all of us to get into the light show!

We were never able to catch up to the man to thank him enough for his gift, but he brought such love and happiness to our little group. Thank you, kind sir, and I hope that whenever you are now, you know you were our Christmas Miracle!

This story is part of our Feel Good roundup for December 2020!

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