I am at the cash register doing a transaction with a young woman.

Me: “All right, your total is [total]. Would you like your receipt?”

Customer: *Mumbles for a few seconds* “No.” *Mumbles again*

I click no receipt and finish her transaction.

Me: “Okay, you are all set. Have a nice day, ma’am.”

Customer: *Mumbles* “My receipt?”

Me: “My apologies, I thought you said no. I can print for you if you’d like.”

Customer: *Mumbles*

Me: “I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time hearing you. Would you like me to print your receipt?”

Customer: *Mumbles* “Yes.”

I go ahead and start the process of printing it off which, for whatever reason, involves calling over one of the managers to approve it.

Me: “Just a moment, ma’am. I’ll need my manager to come over to approve it and then it will print.”

It takes a few minutes to get an available manager to come over. There is an entire conversation between the manager and me about printing it in front of the woman. Once it’s printed, I hand it to her, but she stands there staring at the receipt, looking confused.

Me: “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Customer: “I didn’t need my receipt.”

She then threw away the receipt in the trashcan right next to the register. My manager was just as confused as I was.

Related:
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn, Part 20
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn, Part 19
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn, Part 18
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn, Part 17
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn, Part 16

Our financial advisor’s office is in a mall. We do not have an exterior door to the mall. We are right next to a mall entrance, at an intersection in the mall’s hallways, and we are across from two stores: one directly across from us, [Discount Store], and one to our right, [Bookstore]. The entrance to the mall is not our entrance. It leads into the mall.

A lady calls into our office.

Customer: “Where are you?”

Me: “We’re across from the [Bookstore] and the [Discount Store].”

Customer: “Do you have an exterior door?”

Me: “No. You can go in through the exterior door to the [Bookstore] and walk out from there, or you can go into the mall entrance near the [Discount Store].”

She arrives in one piece and proceeds to start complaining to me that I sent her on a walk across the entire mall.

Customer: “You said you don’t have any exterior doors! What’s that?”

She points at the door between us and [Discount Store].

Me: “That is the mall’s exterior door. We do not own that door, and it does not open into our store.”

Customer: “Well, I meant an exterior door near you!”

Me: “Then ask that. I did inform you about there being a door close to us by [Discount Store]. Did you want anything, or did you just want to complain that we were hard to find?”

According to her financial advisor, she spent most of her appointment with them complaining about me. I guess she just wanted to complain that we were hard to find.

I want to get my hair cut in the next three days for a weekend wedding. My regular barber shop is a small mom-and-pop business just a five-minute walk from my house.

I walk there and learn — I CAN read the handwritten notice taped on the door — that the husband-and-wife team is on vacation and won’t be back for another week. Close by is a beauty salon. I want to get this task checked off of my wedding to-do list, so I walk there.

It is open. In the window is a large sign: “No Walk-Ins. By Appointment Only”. (Again, I CAN read signs.) Since the place is so close to my house, I decide to go in and make an appointment.

Inside, the place is empty except for a woman sitting in a salon chair and a man standing behind her, gently combing her hair. I quickly realize that I might have interrupted their “alone time together” when the woman in the chair, the stylist, sternly tells me:

Stylist: “No walk-ins. You need to make an appointment!”

Me: “Yes, I know… Can I make an appointment?”

She gets up out of the chair; she is not smiling. The man disappears into a back room.

Stylist: “You need to make an appointment first. But, since you are here, sit down.”

Me: “…”

Wanting to get this done, I sit down. As the stylist puts a protective cape around me, she says:

Stylist: “Next time, you need to make an appointment.”

Me: “…”

After ANOTHER reminder about making an appointment, we are almost done.

Stylist: “Would you like me to trim your eyebrows?”

Me: “Yes, please.”

After I pay my bill, she hands me her business card.

Stylist: “My name is [Stylist]. This is our work number. Next time, you need to call first and make an appointment.”

Me: “…” 

I tossed her card into the first trash bin I walked by. Not only was she repeatedly rude about the “No Walk-Ins” reminders, but she also charged me an extra $5 USD for the ten seconds it took her to trim my male eyebrows. (Pop always throws that service in for free! Like in the song ditty, “A Shave And A Haircut (And A Brow Trim)”.)

I work as a cashier at a farm store. There are not many of this chain, and it’s fairly similar to two other chains; however, it is separate enough not to get it confused with the other two… especially since the signs on our building saying our name are massive.

We’ve only been open for about a year and a half, but these stories have happened throughout.

[Customer #1] walks up to the register, holding a shirt.

Me: “Did you find everything okay? And are you a rewards member?”

Customer #1: “No. I wanted a different shirt, but you guys don’t have it. Your store is just about useless.”

I ignore his snide remark and ring his shirt up.

Me: “All right, it’ll be [total].”

Customer #1: “That’s supposed to be 30% off.”

Me: “That’s the member-only deal. I can sign you up if you want.”

They throw the shirt across the counter and storm out.

Customer #1: “You all are useless.”

For this next customer, it was a few days after our sale began, so we ran out of a few of the products in our ad. [Customer #2] walked up holding an ad.

Customer #2: “I was told to wait by customer service for this item to be brought to me.” 

They pointed at a tool that is always kept in the back, in the warehouse.

Me: “Oh, sure! I’ll radio and see if they found it yet.”

I radioed, only to find out we were sold out.

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, it seems like we’re currently sold out.”

They put the ad down and started to walk away.

Customer #2: “This is false advertisement. Why put something in the ad that you don’t have?”

Me: “Well, our other locations may still have it, and we probably had it when the ad came out, but we’ve sold out of a few things already. It is the Christmas shopping season, after all.”

Customer #2: “It’s false advertising. No wonder no one ever shops here.”

Our store was absolutely packed when he said that, but sure, no one shops here.

The next customer was a few months back when I was still staying over to help process our signs and set up for sales. We had just taken the last sales signs down the night before and didn’t have any sales running at this time.

[Customer #3] came in asking for a specific item.

Me: “Oh, we have that! I can show you where.”

Customer #3: “The one in your ad? I want the one that’s on sale right now.”

Me: “I’m sorry, we currently don’t have any sales running. Is it possible you have one of our competitor’s ads?”

Customer #3: *Scoffs* “No, it’s you! It’s this store. I want the one in the ad!”

I sighed, knowing how this was going to end.

Me: “Unfortunately, as I said, we have no sales running this week. I help do the ads, so I know what’s on sale and what’s not. A lot of people confuse us with [Competitor], so that’s why I asked if you had their ad and thought it was us.”

Customer #3: *Stomps* “No! It’s you! This store! I have the ad in my truck!”

Me: “Could you go out and grab it? If it truly is this store, then it’s a future ad and I would have to ask a manager if we’re allowed to do a price change.”

Customer #3: “Yes, I’ll go get it!”

[Customer #3] stormed out and never came back in. I looked up our main competitor’s current ad, and the item was in it.

My local supermarket has moved to “self-scan” where you scan your groceries yourself, either at a self-service register or using a handheld scanner. They still have a few regular registers. This is new for a lot of people, so employees are present for questions. Because of good, clear signs, the employees often just “stand around”, giving them a little extra break.

While I’m checking out one day, an older lady suddenly starts looking around and waving her receipt.

Lady: “I paid! I paid! But how do I open this door?!”

You need to scan the receipt at the sensor to open the “door”. In the spot where you need to scan the receipt, there is a huge arrow, a big light, and words like, “Receipt here!”

An employee comes closer.

Employee: “You need to scan the receipt, ma’am.” 

The lady waves the receipt around, holding it at the arrow, at the light, at the words…

Employee: “At the scanner, ma’am. Here, let me help you.”

However, the lady blocks the scanner and won’t move, despite the employee asking thrice. So, instead, the employee leans over the cart and successfully scans the receipt.

Lady: “This is too complicated! How will I remember this next time?”

Employee: “Well, we’ll be here for you to help you.”

Lady: “And what if you are not here?”

Employee: “It’s also written on your receipt and on these signs.”

Lady: “Oh, sweetie, no one ever reads those things. Tell your boss he made a huge mistake by replacing humans with machines. You need a rocket science degree to understand this!” *Walks away, muttering* “No one ever reads what’s on their receipt…”