I am prepping pastry and bread in our bakery at 6:00 am. I come in every morning at 5:45 am to do this, and obviously, I turn on the lights so I can see what I am doing.

I see a customer at the door but ignore them because I am still prepping, the bakery is obviously closed, and I have a lot to prep. They’ll figure it out.

They do not figure it out.

Instead, I come back to the front to see them wrenching the door open with a stick and wandering in like it’s nothing!

Customer: “Can I have a coffee and a croissant?”

Their gall immediately makes sense when I hear their American accent.

Me: “We don’t open until 7:00 am.”

Customer: “Well, since I’m in the store already?”

I’ve never been so pleased by the fact that the pastries were still in the oven and the coffee maker was on its cleaning program.

Related:
Not So Closed Minded, Part 30
Not So Closed Minded, Part 29
Not So Closed Minded, Part 28
Not So Closed Minded, Part 27
Not So Closed Minded, Part 26

I left a waitressing job at a well-known pancake chain shortly after graduating from college. I was moving halfway across the country for an internship that I was hoping would turn into a full-time job in my field. I gave my manager a proper letter with my two-week notice. He accepted it and said my last check would be mailed to me. I even saw the franchise location’s owner a few days before I left and had the following conversation.

Owner: “I hear you’re moving to New York City.”

Me: “I have a summer internship. I’m really excited about it!”

Owner: “If you need a job, there’s a [Restaurant] there. I could give you a recommendation.”

Me: “Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind.”

Owner: “Good luck with everything!”

All of this is to say that it was weird when I didn’t receive my last check in the mail. I called after a month and talked to a different manager who either hadn’t worked there when I’d been there or had worked different shifts.

Manager #2: “You just stopped showing up to work. We didn’t know what happened to you.”

Me: “I gave a two-week notice to [Manager #1].”

Manager #2: “Oh, he doesn’t work here anymore. I think we held your check for a few weeks, but when you didn’t come in, we sent it back.”

Me: “You can’t just send my check back. I worked that time.”

Manager #2: “We only hold checks for a few weeks.”

Me: “What do I need to do to get it?”

Manager #2: “You could come in and talk to [Owner].”

Me: “I’m in New York! I can’t come in.”

Manager #2: “I don’t know what to tell you. You shouldn’t have just stopped coming to work.”

Me: “I gave a two-week notice!”

Manager #2: “I haven’t seen that.”

I called my dad, who lived in the area, and he was furious. He went to the restaurant to talk to the owner and got the same runaround. I shouldn’t have left without notice. My check got sent back.

Finally, the owner produced a check from somewhere and gave it to my dad. I don’t know if he “found” the one that “got sent back” or if it was a new check.

Dad: “This isn’t enough money.”

Owner: “That’s what she earned.”

Dad: “It was for two weeks. This can’t possibly be all she made for two weeks.”

The owner pulled two twenties out of his own wallet and shoved them at my dad.

Owner: “There! Is that enough money for you?”

The funny thing is, the check was probably right; waitresses don’t make a lot. I think the owner just wanted my dad out of there.

I’m still baffled by the whole thing, though. I spoke to the owner right before I left. He wished me luck and said he’d give me a recommendation. I honestly don’t know if he completely forgot about that interaction or just thought he could get away with not giving me my last check since I was moving so far away.

On campus, there is a very small Asian fusion “cafe” that is an alternative to the usual dining halls. It’s very popular, due to the fact that the other dining halls tend to have the same things every day, and it gets kind of boring. Either that, or the food is questionable.

However, the Asian fusion cafe doesn’t open until 11 AM. The hours of the cafe are actually printed on the glass of the door, right at eye level.

I had one quarter where one of my classes ended at 10:30 AM in the building right next to the cafe, so I would just sit on the ground outside. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t wait inside the building, I have some anxiety about timing. I have a whole story where I once went to the airport 8 hours early on purpose.

I never really minded, it was kind of nice to sit outside after being stuffed in a room for two and a half hours.

The first time I sat outside, one of the workers (a nice older Korean man) saw me waiting outside, he opened the locked door.

Employee: “We don’t open until 11.”

Me: “Oh! I know. I’m just waiting out here until you guys open.”

He seemed vaguely surprised but nodded and closed the door again. I (very naively) wondered why he felt the need to mention this when the hours were printed right there on the door. 

Every day I had that class and sat outside, I had the pleasure of watching at least one person walk up to the doors, rattle the handle, peer inside, then look at the time on the door, make a frustrated or disappointed sound, and leave. 

Every day.

For ten weeks.

I no longer wondered why he felt the need to inform me of the hours that I had seen on the door.

Do customers ever read signs? Get your fix of more sign-ignoring-themed stories with our roundup: 12 True Stories That Prove Customers Never Ever Read Signs

A user submits a ticket because the Wi-Fi signal near their desk appears weak when they look at their laptop. The actual performance is fine, but they want to get ahead of the issue. Their desk is directly below a router and should have full bars.

I grab my laptop and my cell phone and head over to the user’s desk. I imagine it’s not going to be long before other users in the area start complaining, and I’d better be prepared to open a war room if needed.

Me: “So, can you show me what’s going on?”

User: *Pointing* “Look, the Wi-Fi is weak!”

They point to the Wi-Fi icon on their screen. Except it’s not the Wi-Fi icon. They’re not looking at one signal bar as they claimed; the Wi-Fi is working fine.

Me: “Sir, that’s the volume icon. It’s set at 10%.”

They were very quiet after that — ironically.

I work in a daycare, and I usually have a pretty strong immune system. But I start feeling under the weather after being in contact with multiple kids who have strep throat, and I head to a clinic on my lunch break for a quick strep test. I am asked some typical questions. But these ones make me laugh. 

Nurse: “Have you had any recent surgeries?”

Me: “I had a C-section and a tubal ligation six months ago.”

Nurse: “When was your last period?”

Me: “A little over a month ago.”

Nurse: “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?”

Me: “No, I was sterilized.”

A few minutes later:

Nurse: “So, do you plan on having any more kids?”

Me: “Um, no.”

I don’t know how my previous answers were unclear!