It’s a nice summer day, so my husband and I decide to take our toddler to get ice cream after the park. The ice cream shop has a limit on how many people can be in the place at a time, so we are waiting outside along with some other people. My toddler asks why we can’t go in yet but is satisfied with the answer that we have to wait our turn.

A man and woman join the line.

Man: “Is this seriously the f****** line?! Why is it so f****** long?”

My Husband: “They have a limit on how many people can be in the store, so we’re just waiting for some people to leave. It actually looks like it’s moving quickly.”

Man: “That’s ridiculous! I don’t want to wait out in this heat! I should be able to go inside and get my ice cream. Why the f*** are they making us wait out here?”

My Husband: “Probably because of everything going on right now.”

Man: “They’re stupid, making us wait in line.”

Someone Else In Line: “You realize that even if we could go inside, you’d still be in the exact same place in line that you are currently? You’d be waiting the same time.”

The man stared at the other customer, muttered something about how it was still stupid, grabbed the woman with him by the arm, and stormed off.

A man came up to my ice cream stall today. I’m the manager at a mall food court location. I greeted the man and he gave me his order pleasantly enough. I give him his total and he proceeded to try to hand me a $100 bill. We have an in-store policy that we do not take $100 bills.

Me: “I can’t break a hundred.”

On a normal day with a normal person, that pretty much handles that.

He stared at me for a moment.

Customer: “What do you mean? This is a legal American note.”

Me: “I understand, and I’m sorry, but it’s our policy.”

Customer: “Well, that’s all I have, so you have to take it.”

Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t take it.”

Customer: “This is legal tender. It’s in the Constitution that I can use this here.”

This basically crossed the line for me.

Me: “You’ve now made the situation uncomfortable and I simply can’t serve you.”

Customer: “Can I have your name?”

I (stupidly) gave it since I’m directly under the owner and ultimately was upholding HER policy.

Customer: “You’re a f****** b****.”

He walked away. I was shaken at this but thought it was over with. I continued taking the people in line so I didn’t even have to think about it.

The man came back up not ten minutes later, with his wife in tow. She was already charged up and ready to yell.

Wife: “I have a debit card!”

Me: “I still don’t feel comfortable serving you. Your husband called me a f****** b****.”

Wife: “You deserve it; you gave him attitude for no reason!”

One of my staff members started arguing with the wife about how it was a store policy that none of us even had control over, and it turned into a yelling match. I turned to a different staff member.

Me: “Go find a security guard.”

Wife: *Laughing* “A security guard isn’t going to do anything!”

Me: “At least they’ll get you away from us.”

While we were waiting for security, I kept taking other orders. The man stood at the end of the counter talking loudly with his wife.

Customer: “[My Name] is gonna have a discrimination lawsuit on her hands. [My Name] is gonna be dealing with corporate for this.”

The wife found one of the real cops that are hired to patrol the mall and brought him over before security showed up. I was still cheerfully — though, admittedly, literally shaking — taking people getting in line while they talked to the cop.

Eventually, the cop came up.

Cop: “[Customer] has admitted that he was in the wrong for the most part. Don’t you think we can come to a resolution here?”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I still won’t be serving them.”

Cop: “Well, come on. What if I’m here?”

I was already frustrated, and my voice shook as I responded.

Me: “That man is using my name to intimidate me. He called me a f****** b****. There’s another place to get what they want two stalls down; they can head there.”

The cop kept silent eye contact as if he didn’t really accept this answer, so I offered to just call the owner for him. He slowly shook his head.

Cop: “Don’t worry about it.”

He went back to the couple, and I heard:

Customer: “How can they do this?”

Wife: “Well, how do I get in contact with corporate?”

As if the cop had a clue.

They eventually did go two stalls down. The cherry they couldn’t resist putting on top was calling me and my four teenage girl staff members b****es as they walked back past with their purchase. The entitlement and the audacity were unreal.

I worked at a seasonal ice cream restaurant. At the end of the season, I expected to return and work under the same boss. We opened in February, but then my boss sold the business to a friend of his. He asked me two different times if I was sure I would work for the new bosses. I said I would.

Fast forward a few months, to June or July. I was pissed because we were understaffed and had only two people up front during a very busy night. We usually have three people up front, but the new bosses were cheap and worked us all very hard.

The two new bosses and their twenty-four-year-old son were having a meeting in the office to discuss acquiring the pizza business next door. In the office, they had video screens with two cameras viewing us and another one viewing the line, and they still refused to help us.

When they eventually emerged, they asked me:

Owners: “What’s wrong? You look upset.”

I just kept a straight face and said nothing. I got a text after the shift ended saying that I was rude and should open up more.

This wasn’t the first time, either.

My family’s store was closing down due to low profits and was selling the locale to the ice cream shop next door, which was very popular. As I was there, helping to pack out the locale, we took a break and went next door to buy some ice cream. They were very friendly and helpful when some customers walked in and ordered ice cream.

Ice Cream Man: “There you go. Now, we will close down next week as we’re moving in next door, but we open again the week after that.”

Customer: “You’re closing down? Why?”

Ice Cream Man: “Well, we are moving in next door; it is bigger and customers will be able to sit down and eat their ice cream.”

Customer: “You’re moving?! Where?!”

Ice Cream Man: “Next door.”

Customer: “But I can’t walk that far to get my ice cream!”

Ice Cream Man: “I’m sorry to hear that, but it is right next door.”

Customer: “This is unbelievable. You shouldn’t move. Is it not going well here?”

Ice Cream Man: “Yes, we are very popular which is why we need a bigger locale.”

Customer: “You’re betraying your customers! Now, where are the chairs? I want to sit down.”

I work at an ice cream shop in Germany. With the health crisis, we have a few rules: only outside seating is available, and you have to fill in your personal details on a piece of paper in order for us to contact you if something happens. Also, you have to ask the employee first whether you could sit at one of the tables. The tables even have big stickers on them telling you to please contact the staff first before seating yourself, as you need to receive that detail paper. We have chairs up on the indoor tables to prevent people from sitting there.

I have four middle-aged customers come in, immediately go to an inside table, and take down the chairs on top of it.

Me: *Politely* “We are not allowed to have inside seating. And you need to come up to me to order first, anyway.”

Customer #1: *Smugly* “Oh, we have been coming here for years. It’s fine. Are you new? We always sit here.”

I am a bit perplexed as I have been working here for six years and have never seen them here. I try to avoid any unnecessary small talk.

Me: “I’m actually a long-time employee. With current [health crisis] rules, things are being handled differently now.”

I explained how our system works now and ask if they want to take a seat outside after they get their ice cream and I write down their details.

Customer #2: “We have to give you our details? Why? We come here often.”

Me: “It is a [health crisis] rule that applies to every shop offering food in our region!”

As it has been for months, I should add.

The entitled friends just grumble, roll their eyes, and order. I have to inform ALL of them separately that they should not take their masks off their mouths when talking to me, as I can understand them just fine.

They finally pay.

Me: “Would you like to sit outside? I’ll happily bring you the paper you have to fill out.”

Customer #1: “No, we will not be staying at one of your tables. Don’t worry.”

I am honestly quite happy that they don’t intend to stay.

They go out and around the corner. I serve some more people, and after a while, I finally get the time to go outside and disinfect the tables people have been sitting at.

I look to my left, and there the group is, happily sitting at the last table around the corner — the only one that I can’t see from inside.

They notice me and just stare. One lady even rolls her eyes again. I sigh and go back inside to get them a paper to write their details on. It is policy, after all, and I don’t want trouble.

Me: “Hello. You will have to fill in your details before you leave, all right?”

More stares. I just turn around awkwardly and only hear a faint, “Why does it apply to us?” behind me as I’m already walking back inside.

Me: “Sorry, it’s the policy.”

Of course, when I came back to check on them, they were gone, with the paper still laying there, untouched.

I just thought to myself, “If you don’t want to get a notification if someone near you has had [contagious illness] and you could be at risk because of that, that’s not my problem at all.”

And, of course, the frickin’ table was a MESS. I don’t know if any ice cream even made its way into their mouths or just ended up on the seats and table immediately.